HowTo-Outlook

Fashionably late to the New Year’s party comes the release of the December feature update of Outlook for Microsoft 365 Apps in the Current Channel (previously known as the Office 365 Monthly Channel).

It comes with 1 new feature for Outlook and 1 highlighted fix. There is 1 additional fix in the general Office Suite and another 1 in Access which also affect Outlook.

• Improved Calendar Search
  Improvements have been made to Calendar search, largest of which is the ability to more easily find the next occurrence of a series in search results.
• We fixed an issue that caused users to see garbled text in some fields when exporting contacts to a CSV.
• Access: Implemented a change which enables full support of requirement set 1.11 and 1.9 for Outlook add-ins.
• Office: We fixed an issue where the teaching callouts (tips) about the new look of Office did not appear in Outlook. Now, users of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are notified about the changes to the new look of Office, which includes information about what changed and how to change settings, or toggle off the experience.

Note: Depending on your installation type, this update can be installed via the Update Now button in Outlook or the Microsoft Store and updates Outlook to: Version 2112 (Build 14729.20194).

A new rollup update has been made available for all Click-to-Run installations of Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2021 and Outlook as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription.

It contains 5 security updates for Excel (1), and Office (4).

In addition, it contains 1 documented non-security fix for Outlook Current Version 2111, 2 new features and 14 fixes for Monthly Enterprise Version 2110, and 4 fixes for Semi-Annual (Preview) Version 2108. Most notable fixes are;

• Version 2111
  • We fixed an issue that caused users to experience a stop responding when retrieving personas.
• Version 2110
  • We fixed an issue that caused the appointment quick view to be cropped when previewing meeting invitations.
  • We fixed an issue that caused users who are on Windows 11 or who are using the visual refresh through Coming Soon to see;
    • some alignment issues in the ribbon area and strange visual artifacts when resizing Outlook windows.
    • misaligned text when hovering over the mini calendar date.
  • We fixed an issue that caused users to see their default signatures stop being able to be inserted in new emails, replies, or forwards after a restart of Outlook.
• Version 2110 and 2110
  • We fixed an issue that caused users to be able to save the MP3 attachment from a protected voicemail message when the permission should have been restricted.
  • We fixed an issue where sending mail by right clicking and selecting “Send Mail” from the file system caused explorer.exe to closed unexpectedly on VDI machines.

The new features in Monthly Enterprise Version 2110 are;

• Microsoft Search powered compose (To\CC\BCC) suggestions
  Adding people to the To\CC line is now powered by Microsoft Search.
• Expanded GAL people suggestions for mail and calendar compose
  Outlook will now return results from the complete GAL when suggestions people for email and calendar compose. (Ex: Adding someone to the To line of a new email)

Based on your release channel, you’ll be updated to the following version;

• Microsoft 365 Apps, Outlook 2016 Retail, Outlook 2019 Retail, Outlook 2021 Retail
  Version 2111 (Build 14701.20248)
• Monthly Enterprise
  Version 2110 (Build 14527.20340)
  Version 2109 (Build 14430.20380)
• Semi-Annual Enterprise (Preview)
  Version 2108 (Build 14326.20692)
• Semi-Annual Enterprise
  Version 2102 (Build 13801.21086)
  Version 2008 (Build 13127.21842)
• Outlook LTSC 2021
  Version 2108 (Build 14332.20204)
• Outlook 2019 Volume License
  Version 1808 (Build 10381.20020)

Note: Depending on your installation type, this update can be installed via the Update Now button in Outlook itself or the Microsoft Store. This update does not apply to msi-based installations of Office 2016.

With a bit of delay, most likely due to Thanksgiving, Microsoft released the November feature update of Outlook for Microsoft 365 Apps in the Current Channel (previously known as the Office 365 Monthly Channel).

It doesn’t come with any new features for Outlook (nor for any of the other Office apps) but does contain 3 highlighted fixes and an additional fix for PowerPoint and Word which also affects Outlook.

• We fixed an issue that caused users to experience an close unexpectedly when loading personas in PowerPoint.
• We fixed an issue that caused an unexpected close when displaying a contact card.
• We fixed an issue that caused users to experience an unexpected close when loading people photos.
• We fixed an issue where some pop-up UI elements could not be clicked, such as the Join Meeting pop-up in Outlook or the Welcome Back pop-up in PowerPoint. (PowerPoint and Word)

Note: Depending on your installation type, this update can be installed via the Update Now button in Outlook or the Microsoft Store and updates Outlook to: Version 2111 (Build 14701.20226).

Instead of releasing the November Feature Update for Outlook for Microsoft 365 (Current Channel), the October release got a Bug Fix update.

This is odd, but the week of Thanksgiving Day is probably to blame why Microsoft isn’t sticking to its regular release schedule for the Current Channel.

Usually, the Feature Update for the Current Channel is released in the last week of the month (and on occasion a few days late).

So now that it is December already, seeing a Bug Fix update for the October release, probably means we’ll have to wait another week for the November Feature Update (Version 2111).

Anyway, the following issues have been resolved in Outlook;

• We fixed an issue that caused users to experience a close unexpectedly when expanding conversations.
• We fixed an issue that caused users to be able to download the MP3 attachment from protected voicemail messages.
• We fixed an issue that caused users to see their default signatures stop being able to be inserted in new emails, replies, or forwards after a restart of Outlook.
• We fixed an issue that caused users to experience a close unexpectedly when updating user presence information in Outlook.

Note: Depending on your installation type, this update can be installed via the Update Now button in Outlook or the Microsoft Store and updates Outlook to: Version 2110 (Build 14527.20312).

A new rollup update has been made available for all Click-to-Run installations of Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2021 and Outlook as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription.

It contains 4 security updates for Excel (2), Word (1), and Office (1).

In addition, it contains 1 documented non-security fix for Outlook Current Version 2110 (and another one which was already included in the bug fix release too), 2 new features and 6 fixes for Monthly Enterprise Version 2109, 5 fixes for Monthly Enterprise Version 2108, 5 fixes for Semi-Annual (Preview) Version 2108, 2 fixes for Semi-Annual Version 2102, and 1 fix for Semi-Annual Version 2008. Most notable fixes are;

• Version 2110
• We fixed an issue where sending mail by right clicking and selecting “Send Mail” from the file system caused explorer.exe to close unexpectedly on VDI machines.
• Version 2109
• We fixed an issue that caused calendars added to the “shortcuts” module to disappear after Outlook restarts.
• Version 2109 and Version 2108
• We fixed an issue that caused some users to experience a stop responding when attempting to retrieve AutoDiscover settings.
• We fixed an issue that caused users to see shared calendars that they added not be checked by default, leading them to believe that the calendar did not get added.
• We fixed an issue that caused a sync failure to occur when generating a preview.
• Version 2108, Version 2102 and Version 2008
• Fixed an issue where it was possible to get Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook clients into a state where we send requests against an incorrect URL endpoints.
• Version 2108 and Version 2102
• We fixed a performance issue with RTF formats.
• Version 2102
• We fixed an issue where the sensitivity labels configured to apply the Encrypt-Only encryption policy were shown in the Sensitivity dropdown menu when they shouldn’t have been.

The new features in Monthly Enterprise Version 2109 are;

• Auto-Expanding Online Archive Search
  Enabling auto-expanding Online Archive Search.
• Last Sign In / Suspicious Sign In
  Outlook now tells you when and where you last signed into your account, and alerts you if any suspicious sign-in activity is detected.

Based on your release channel, you’ll be updated to the following version;

• Microsoft 365 Apps, Outlook 2016 Retail, Outlook 2019 Retail, Outlook 2021 Retail
  Version 2110 (Build 14527.20276)
• Monthly Enterprise
  Version 2109 (Build 14430.20342)
  Version 2108 (Build 14326.20600)
• Semi-Annual Enterprise (Preview)
  Version 2108 (Build 14326.20600)
• Semi-Annual Enterprise
  Version 2102 (Build 13801.21050)
  Version 2008 (Build 13127.21820)
• Outlook LTSC 2021
  Version 2108 (Build 14332.20176)
• Outlook 2019 Volume License
  Version 1808 (Build 10380.20037)

Note: Depending on your installation type, this update can be installed via the Update Now button in Outlook itself or the Microsoft Store. This update does not apply to msi-based installations of Office 2016.

Security updates have been released for Exchange 2013, Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019.

The updates fixes the following Vulnerabilities;

• CVE-2021-42305: Microsoft Exchange Server Spoofing Vulnerability
• CVE-2021-42321: Microsoft Exchange Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (does not apply to Exchange 2013)
• CVE-2021-41349: Microsoft Exchange Server Spoofing Vulnerability

None of the them are currently publicly disclosed but CVE-2021-42321 is already being exploited. It is therefor important to update as soon as possible.

View: Exchange Blog: Released: Released: October 2021 Exchange Server Security Updates
View: Description of the security update for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019, 2016, and 2013: November 9, 2021 (KB5007409)

Download: Security Update for Exchange 2019 CU10 and CU11
Download: Security Update for Exchange 2016 CU21 and CU22
Download: Security Update for Exchange 2013 CU23

Microsoft released the August feature update of Outlook for Microsoft 365 Apps in the Current Channel (previously known as the Office 365 Monthly Channel).

It comes with 1 new feature for Outlook and 7 highlighted fixes. The new feature and fixes are listed below;

• Expanded GAL people suggestions for mail and calendar compose
  Outlook will now return results from the complete GAL when suggesting people for email and calendar compose. (Ex: Adding someone to the To line of a new email)
• We fixed an issue that caused a sync failure to occur when generating a preview.
• We fixed an issue that caused users who are on Windows 11 or who are using the visual refresh through Coming Soon to see misaligned text when hovering over the mini calendar date.
• We fixed an issue that caused all emails sent with Sensitivity labels to always apply the “Encrypt – Only” template which would result in incorrect behavior, allowing people to forward “recipients only” emails.
• We fixed an issue that caused users who are on Windows 11 or who are using the visual refresh through Coming Soon to see some alignment issues in the ribbon area and strange visual artifacts when resizing Outlook windows.
• We fixed an issue that caused users to encounter a stop responding when loading the navigation pane for the calendar module.
• We fixed an issue that caused the appointment quick view to be cropped when previewing meeting invitations.
• We fixed an issue where the app stop responding when we opened the privacy settings window and the default dialog manager is empty.

Note: Depending on your installation type, this update can be installed via the Update Now button in Outlook or the Microsoft Store and updates Outlook to: Version 2110 (Build 14527.20226).

A new rollup update has been made available for all Click-to-Run installations of Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2021 and Outlook as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription.

It contains 10 security updates for Excel (6), Visio (2), Word (1), and Office (1).

In addition, it contains 1 documented non-security fix for Outlook Current Version 2109 (which was already included in last week’s bug fix release too), 16 fixes for Monthly Enterprise Version 2108, and 3 fixes for Semi-Annual (Preview) Version 2108. Most notable fixes are;

• Version 2109
  • We fixed an issue that caused some users to experience a stop responding when attempting to retrieve AutoDiscover settings.
• Version 2108
  • We fixed an issue that caused some users to experience a stop responding when adding calendars to the navigation pane.
  • We fixed an issue that caused users of Outlook’s “shared calendar improvements” feature to experience high CPU usage.
  • We fixed an issue that caused calendars added to the “shortcuts” module to disappear after Outlook restarts.
  • We fixed an issue that caused links in the location field to be unclickable.
  • We fixed an issue that caused deleted meeting invitations to intermittently re-surface for some users.
  • We fixed an issue that caused users to see a loss of HTML formatting when saving a draft of an email to disk.

Based on your release channel, you’ll be updated to the following version;

• Microsoft 365 Apps, Outlook 2016 Retail, Outlook 2019 Retail, Outlook 2021 Retail
  Version 2109 (Build 14430.20298)
• Monthly Enterprise
  Version 2108 (Build 14326.20508)
  Version 2107 (Build 14228.20340)
• Semi-Annual Enterprise (Preview)
  Version 2108 (Build 14326.20508)
• Semi-Annual Enterprise
  Version 2102 (Build 13801.21004)
  Version 2008 (Build 13127.21766) 
• Outlook 2019 Volume License
  Version 1808 (Build 13127.21792)
• Outlook LTSC 2021
  Version 2108 (Build 14332.20145)

Note: Depending on your installation type, this update can be installed via the Update Now button in Outlook itself or the Microsoft Store. This update does not apply to msi-based installations of Office 2016.

Security updates have been released for Exchange 2013, Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019.

The updates fixes the following Vulnerabilities;

• Exchange 2019 and Exchange 2016
• CVE-2021-34453: Microsoft Exchange Server Denial of Service Vulnerability
• CVE-2021-41348: Microsoft Exchange Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
• CVE-2021-41350: Microsoft Exchange Server Spoofing Vulnerability
• Exchange 2013
• CVE-2021-26427: Microsoft Exchange Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

None of the them are currently publicly exposed or exploited. The Exploitability Assessment for all vulnerabilities is rated: Exploitation Less Likely.

View: Exchange Blog: Released: Released: October 2021 Exchange Server Security Updates
View: Description of the security update for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 and 2016: October 12, 2021 (KB5007012)
View: Description of the security update for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013: October 12, 2021 (KB5007011)

Download: Security Update for Exchange 2019 CU10 and CU11
Download: Security Update for Exchange 2016 CU21 and CU22
Download: Security Update for Exchange 2013 CU23